Railroad car straightener for bulged ends of railway cars



' Nov. 5, 1968 F. LAGUE ETAL RAILROAD CAR STRAIGHTENER FOR BULGED ENDS OF RAILWAY CARS Or'iginal Filed Sept. 25, 1965 wwmrons Frmrga/s 46111. Normand Rl/EL ATIWRNE'VS United States Patent 3,408,848 RAILROAD CAR STRAIGHTENER FOR BULGED ENDS OF RAILWAY CARS Francois Lague, Jacques Cartier, Quebec, and Normand Ruel, Lemoyne, Quebec, Cauada, assignors to-Equipmeut R. Lague Limitee, Lemoyne, Quebec, Canada Continuation of application SenNo. 493,305, Sept. 25, 1965. This application Feb. 6, 1968, Ser. No. 703,481 1Claim. (Cl. 72-446) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The device is adapted to be inserted between two coupled box cars for straightening the bulging ends thereof and comprises a hydraulic fluid motor mounted between two side plates. The motor is of the piston-cylinder type and is provided with a piston rod movable by the piston of the hydraulic motor. The piston rod has an end tapered to conform with successive corrugations in the end walls of the box cars. At the opposite end of the device, preferably secured to the end of the cylinder opposite the piston rod, there is a back plate mounted perpendicularly to the axis of the hydraulic motor for resting against the end of a box car facing the bulging end to be straightened. Proper means may be provided for suspending the device in a horizontal position.

This application is a continuation of my application, Ser. No. 493,305, filed Sept. 23, 1965, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to body-working tools of the kind designed particularly for use in reshaping the deformed ends of railroad freight cars. More particularly, the invention is directed to railroad car straighteners for bulged ends of railway cars.

In the past, bulging ends of box cars have always presented a major problem to the railway industry. Box cars which are made of corrugated sheet metal are particularly susceptible to deformation. It has been observed that this problem arises mostly where the freight cars are used for hauling grain or any similar type of loose material. The hydrostatic pressure of the load and the compaction that takes place during haulage tend to cause the walls to bulge outwardly. This problem is particularly serious when the end walls are deformed.

Heretofore, it has been customary, whenever possible, to reshape the bulging ends of box cars by removing the distorted part or parts, which involved an enormous expenditure of time and labour. Means of a stationary and non-portable character have also been devised with resultant loss in service time for the damaged box car. United States Patent No. 2,334,080 relates to a structure straightener which is portable to some extent and can be coupled to either of the ends of the damaged box car. The apparatus is bulky and necessitates that the box car be uncoupled before reshaping its bulging ends; the operation is thus time consuming and involves many cumbersome operations. Many devices for reshaping automobile panels have also been developed, as for instance, those of United States Patent No. 2,311,041 but none could be adapted for reshaping distorted box cars. Furthermore, it may be added that in all previously known devices, some manual operations were required.

It is therefrom an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which will obviate the disadvantages inherent to the devices known in the prior art.

Another object of this inventon is to provide an apparatus for straightening the ends of box cars and particularly of those which are built of corrugated sheet metal.

It has now been found that the above disadvantages may be overcome by providing a portable railroad car straightener incorporating a hydraulic piston terminated ice by an appropriately shaped blunt head and having a support substantially perpendicular to the axis of said hydraulic piston. The shaped blunt head acts as a plunger in applying pressure to force the bulged ends to recover their original shape. The portable straightener support may be a rear plate of substantially large area.

In the drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the railroad car straightener shown in operation between two coupled box cars illustrated in partial elevation;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

The device illustrated comprises a heavy hydraulic piston 25 mounted between side plates 1 and 2 and provided with a blunt head 9. The device is adapted to be suspended horizontally from crane attachment 10 by means of supports 3 and 4.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 3, the hydraulic piston structure 25 comprises a cylinder 5 defining a piston chamber 24 adapted to operate piston rod 8 by means of oil duct controls 12 and 13. The blunt head 9 is secured to piston rod 8 through screw 14, and is mounted in slidable engagement within cylinder 5 by means of piston rod guide 7 which is secured to the cylinder by a series of bolts 6. Gaskets 15 and O-ring 21 prevent oil leaks from piston chamber 24. The piston head 16 is mounted at the other end of piston rod 8 by means of screw 19. The piston head is sealed against leaks by means of cup-shaped gasket 20, washer 17 and nut 18. The cylinder 5 is mounted on web 23 laterally secured to side plates 1 and 2 and bolted to back plate 22 by means of bolts 26.

For the purpose of illustrating the operation of the device according to the invention, reference will now be made to FIG. 2. The railroad car straightener secured to crane attachment 10 by supports 3 and 4 is lowered into a desired position between box cars A and B still coupled by coupling device 11. The back plate 22 (not shown in FIG. 2) is positioned so that it will rest on the end surface of one box car A while the blunt head 9 will act as a plunger and be applied with pressure against the deformed end wall of the other box B (illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 2) until the box car end regains its normal shape (as illustrated in full lines in FIG. 2).

Since the deformed box cars need not be uncoupled and since the apparatus according to the invention can be suspended from a crane, an enormous economy of time and labour is realized.

While the invention has been particularly described in connection with box car ends repair work, it is obvious that the particular features and distinct advantages secured by the machine of the present invention are equally applicable to other industrial uses, and provide a portable hydraulic metal straightening machine which is capable of use in any situation in which the utilities and capabilities provided thereby can be employed.

It is not our intention to be limited to the details of the specific embodiment of our invention as defined herein, except as recited in the appended claim.

We claim:

1. A device adapted to be inserted between two coupled railroad cars to straighten the bulging ends thereof comprising:

(a) a pair of parallel side plates,

(b) a single hydraulic motor having a cylinder, a piston operable within said cylinder, and a single pair of hydraulic ducts for operating the device,

(0) said hydraulic motor being mounted between said side plates,

(d) .a piston rod connected to and movable by said piston, v, v v,

(e) said piston and piston rod being movable in said cylinder along an axis located substantially horizontal, 1

(f) said piston rod having a tapered end means for conforming to successive corrugations in the walls of said railroad cars, 1 a 1 (g) supporting means mounted on said side plates for suspending said hydraulic motor along said substantially horizontal axis whereby said hydraulic motor is maintained in a horizontal position and the axis of operation is between said side plates,

(h) a narrow, elongated back plate substantially perpendicular to the axis of said hydraulic motor'and mounted at the rear end of said side plates, said rear end being remote from the front end from which said piston rod extends, said back plate being positioned substantially vertically when said device is in its horidirection, :5

(i) said side plates being substantially wider at their rear portion than at theirtfront portion whereby said back plate-is longenough o cover at leasttyvo 01- rugations,:

3,201,968 8/1965 Hil1.. 3,224,730 I 1:; 196; Fis ehl en CHARLES -W. LANHAM, Primary 1;; 'spr'rorq, Assam: E a iner;

V I) ReferencesCite'd f :2 UNITED sT'ATEs PArENTs zontal operating posltion whereby said back plate is longer in the 'vertical" direction'than' in the horizontal Examiner. I i 

